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Shocking behaviour!

Today my partner and I took Jazz to our local park, when we take her there because its a small but open field, we take her ball catcher so she gets plenty of exercise chasing her ball - which she loves. Anyway, when we arrive there were a pair of adorable dogs (bearded collies I think.) neither showed any aggression and wanted to play with Jazz. She however was far more interested in her ball....... One of the dogs kept persisting and Jazz growled a bit..... The dog kept persisting and Jazz started to snarl and snap... And the dog still didn't get the message... So jazz basically attacked it!! I have never seen this kind of behaviour from her and we were both horrified!!! Suffice to say she was placed straight back on lead.

i am certain there is nothing "wrong" with jazz, either physically or mentally but I am concerned that this is a training issue and we need to nip it in the bud...my first guess is possession over the ball, my second is that maybe we have mollycoddled her too much and she's getting "small dog syndrome". She's well socialised and goes to day care at least once a week so she's never had an issue with other dogs.....

Hm I don't have any experience with this exact issue but....are you SURE she has never had an issue with other dogs at daycare? I ask because for years I owned a child care center and we don't always tell parents every single "issue" their child had during the day for several reasons #1 we handled it, dogs like small children cannot be "spoken to" hours after the fact #2 we can handle it after all we are responsible, even if the "issue" is not 100% resolved we are working on it.....there can be other reasons too. Plus daycare is different or does she take HER TOYS to daycare? I'm thinking she was more interested in her ball. You were right to put her back on lead immediately, and I would do so again when other dogs come to share the field now that this has happened. Perhaps in the future you could simply avoid the "issue" all together by taking her off for a nice walk when she begins to get annoyed with other dogs around.Or maybe try putting the balls away for a bit.....see if "I don't wanna share my ball" was the real problems. I think more socialization, slowly is needed as well she is still young. Maybe you can enroll in a class, they are always fun and if you go with a great trainer he/she can tell you what they think. You obviously know you have to watch her like a hawk when she is around other dogs now too. Jazz gave off several signs she is annoyed so its shouldn't be too hard to tell when she needs to be redirected away from other dogs.

Give her a break, it doesn't sound like you have a wild vicious dogs on your hands. She did attack another dog and yes you need to avoid any aggression. Even sometimes as human adults we need a time out. I'm interested to see what other people have to say too.

Melissa
"If you don't own a dog, at least one, there is not necessarily anything wrong with you, but there may be something wrong with your life."
-Roger Caras

The other dog was being rude and your dog, after giving fair amount of warning, gave a correction to the other dog. No harm done. And as far as socializing, some dogs just don't have the need to play with other dogs. Your dog gets along well at doggie daycare so I can assume she is well socialized already. She just prefers playing ball instead of playing with other dogs.

I don't know if this helps or not, lol, but our last boxer, who was the world of sweetness to everything and everybody (unless you are a chipmunk), had one dog she "took down". This was a half grown Bulldog terrier whom she had met and played with when he was a young puppy. Apparently, as soon as we walked into the (my FIL and step MIL's!) house, something happened and she jumped him (making an incredible racket- from a dog who barked about twice a year!), tackled him and pinned him to the floor. And stayed there for a minute (when we realized she wasn't trying to kill him, it was kind of funny, because she just laid on top of him and wouldn't let him up, like a momma dog with a naughty puppy, lol), then she let him up, everything was fine and they got along the rest of the day. Never happened before (even when a dog went after her), never happened again. It was just a "Listen up, young man, don't you be that way with me!" correction and it was specific to that time and that dog.

Hopefully, since your girl gets along at daycare, it was a similar situation- she said no and the other dog didn't listen, so he got it. If she was my dog, I would just keep an eye on her for a while to make sure it's not a "new behavior" issue, and keep in mind that she doesn't want to share her ball! :P For some dogs, it's not just play, it's serious, like it's their job to bring it back to you.

I agree with the others, I think she gave the other dog fair warning. She wanted to play with you and the ball, and she told him that, and he didn't listen. Obviously you don't want this to happen, but it seems unlikely that she attacked him, she probably was still giving him a very severe warning, but likely didn't actually try to sink her teeth into him.

Do you know the age of the other dog (young puppy, old puppy, young adult, etc)?

Thanks for your replies - I'm relievd that you have all suggested this is doggie etiquette and Jazz was just putting them in their place. With jazz being such a sociable, calm and sweet natured dog, it was a real shock to witness. We will be on alert for a little while I think, and leave her ball at home. I've also mentioned it to my doggie day care ladies who are well trained on dog behaviour so they will also be keeping an eye out for any repeat of this.

I think this was probably just a normal, I don't want to share, and I've already told you to leave me alone a few times thing. We can't know though without having seen it.
Luke actually barks like an idiot if dogs don't come say hi to him. But he'd probably do about the same thing if a dog he didn't know repeatedly bugged him for his ball. He's perfectly fine for others to chase the ball with him, and he will let others get it, but once he's got it, they better not try to get it from him. I'd just put the ball away when other dogs are around.